Smaller Banks Are Outperforming Larger Players When It Comes To Customer Satisfaction

The results of Consumer NZ’s banking satisfaction survey are in, and yet again the smaller players are outperforming the big banks when it comes to customer service and satisfaction.

“Overall customer satisfaction levels at The Co-operative Bank and TSB are impressive compared to the behemoths like ASB and Westpac,” said Consumer NZ investigative team leader Rebecca Styles.

“Yet again, the banks with the largest market share and biggest profits are failing to keep their customers as satisfied as the smaller banks,” said Styles.

“The Co-operative Bank performed exceptionally well – ranking first in each of the 13 major satisfaction areas.

“Its stand out performance has seen The Co-operative Bank eligible for our People’s Choice status for the second year in a row.”

TSB has earned Consumer’s People’s Choice Award for the eighth year in a row – receiving well above average scores for its value for money, call centre service, and how it deals with problems and complaints.

For the second year running, Westpac is the worst-performing bank in the watchdog’s satisfaction survey.

“Westpac has a sizeable share of the market at 19%, but its branch and call centre service, timeliness to respond to inquiries, and fairness when dealing with consumer issues is leaving many customers wanting.”

Consumer NZ also gauged New Zealanders’ satisfaction with their KiwiSaver provider. The results show the big banks are falling short of the mark for their KiwiSaver customers too.

“Simplicity, Milford Funds and Generate Investment Management received our People’s Choice seal of approval for 2023,” said Styles.

The People’s Choice providers are all previous winners, demonstrating continuously high customer satisfaction with their services.

“At the other end of the spectrum, ANZ Investments and ASB Group Investments ranked 10th and 11th respectively (out of 13).

“ANZ scored below average for the seven main performance measures included in our survey.

“ASB scored below average for ethical investments and fees.”

Bottom of the pile is Amanah Ethical NZ – the lowest-ranked provider when it comes to updating customers about their investments, access to account information, and dealing fairly with problems and complaints.

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